I’m a junior, and our class’s testing situation is weird. I took the old SAT in October, got a 2290, and I’m satisfied with my score. Our school, however, is forcing us to take the new SAT on a school day in March. Since some schools require all scores to be sent, I don’t want a test I didn’t study for being sent out to colleges.
I talked to my counselor about this today, and she told me something that… doesn’t quite agree with the consensus on this website. She said that it’s always better that I have a larger set of data to provide colleges with, so not only should I take the new SAT in school, but I should also go out of my way and take the ACT. She said that she’s seen some students who’ve done well on both tests get an edge or a scholarship over students who only did well on one test.
What I see on this website is that once you’ve passed the 2250/34 barrier (which I have), you shouldn’t worry about these college admissions tests.
Not sure what to do. She is a guidance counselor and should be very experienced, but I just don’t want to study for the new SAT and ACT when I’ve already got a good old SAT score. I’d rather focus on my ECs and subject tests.
As a parent, I’m leaning your way. The only thing I would look into is to make sure colleges that you’re interested in will accept scores from Oct. of junior year and from the “old” SAT. If any do not, you still have fall of senior year to retake.
However, if it is a blanket school policy, you might not be able to opt out. Use your most diplomatic persuasive powers if you try to get an exemption. I agree that your score is totally fine and not likely to hold you back, and you have almost a year if you change your mind.
I like the idea of cancelling the scores right after the test. It is ridiculous to be forced to re-take the test when you are satisfied with your results. From what I understand, colleges do not want a huge group of standardizes tests to choose from – they basically pick out the highest score (be it ACT or SAT), use that and move on.
First there is no reason to take it and cancel scores. I’m sure you have better use of time.
OP, this does not make sense with the ‘more data’ approach. I have never, ever heard that colleges want more scores. They know you have better things to do. And taking another test could be a lower score. You already have an ACT 35 equivalent, so getting a 35 or 36 would not really help you. Your score is good enough for any school where it is. It is the rest of your application that matters now. I agree it is likely you will get a lower score as a higher.
This doesn’t make sense because of the high score you earned on the first round, you are correct IMO–you are in the 99 percentile. Now in other cases this would make sense. I worked with a kid who got an equivalent of ACT 24 on the SAT but this was a very good student so a retake of the SAT and ACT were appropriate. Kid got 30 o the ACT and that did net some scholarships at schools that give automatic scholarships for scores
The school is likely administering the test in school in March to meet the statewide testing regulations. You should check your high school graduation requirements and your state requirements to understand any possible ramifications of opting out of the tests.
On a separate note, it’s not clear to me why you feel you would have to report these scores to any schools, regardless of your results, other than if you apply to the handful of colleges that require you to submit ALL scores.
I disagree with your counselor, but I also disagree (with qualifications) with this:
The real “finishing score” is 750+ in all three sections. It’s quite possible to score well over 2250 and still have a weak section. For super-selective schools, it’s best to try to avoid any weaknesses, and a <750 score is at least potentially a weakness.